The much-anticipated return of Jon ‘Bones’ Jones in the octagon went way better than planned as the two-time Light Heavyweight Champion made easy work of his French opponent and former Interim Heavyweight Champion Ciryl Gane in the UFC 285 event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday.
BONES IS BACK ON TOP ????☠️@JonnyBones is the heavyweight champion of the world! He defeats Ciryl Gane by submission at #UFC285!!
[ B2YB @65movie ] pic.twitter.com/K3sj2Qugpq
— UFC (@ufc) March 5, 2023
Jones, who had not fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship for over three years, came into the bout debuting in the heavyweight category, weighing 248 pounds, and had even more weight on his shoulders as his reputation as one of the sport’s greatest was on the line.
The American, however, seemed unperturbed as he looked sharp and focused, annihilating his opponent, Gane, inside the first round with a submission. The fight took just two minutes and four seconds, with the French fighter looking shocked like everyone else in the crowd.
Other than a kick to his groin early in the fight that forced a timeout, Jones was unblemished and looked like he wanted to make a statement with the win over the division’s top contender, forcing him to tap out with a guillotine choke.
THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME IS NOW THE HEAVYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMP ????
JON JONES SUBMITS CIRYL GANE!! #UFC285 pic.twitter.com/JOiAnweVJ5
— UFC (@ufc) March 5, 2023
Speaking after the fight, Jones expressed his happiness at becoming the UFC heavyweight champion while reiterating that he still has more to give.
“This fight means a lot, it means a lot, and it just goes to show that no matter what happens in life, you just continue to strive, put one foot in front of the other, that sky’s the limit and this world really can be your oyster.”
Furthermore, he called out Stipe Miocic, the former two-time UFC heavyweight champion, who UFC President Dana White said earlier in the week would get the next opportunity to challenge the winner of the title bout.
“Yeah the next fight is going to be awesome. I say it respectfully to Stipe. I would take time off, from being a firefighter right now, and I mean that with all due respect, my whole world is going to be focused on him, this is the biggest opportunity of my life, to beat the Heavyweight GOAT,” Jones said.
“I’m going to give it everything I’ve got, absolutely everything I got, Stipe’s talking about the fact that he’s heavier than me right now, his head’s already in the wrong spot if he thinks weight lifting is going to beat me, he’ll never be younger than he is right now, he’ll never be faster and I’m going to not only beat Stipe Miocic, I’m going to finish Stipe Miocic before the championship rounds,” the new UFC Heavyweight Champion said convincingly.
On the other hand, Gane, who lost for just the second time in his career after he was defeated by Cameroon’s Francis Ngannou at UFC 270 in January 2022, said he was disappointed and revealed his anger was mostly directed at himself.
“I’m disappointed, of course, but the biggest feeling for me is really angry at myself. I’m angry because I spent a lot of time with my coaches, sparring partners, family, and it didn’t reflect in the fight,” he said.
“My start was really not good, he got the clinch, went to ground and tried to have my back. I was comfortable, I was afraid about the referee and my coach was saying ‘don’t stay in this position, this is a bad position’, during training,” Gane added. “So, I tried to move and he adapted at exactly the moment I moved. This is a real loss, the first real loss I’ve had. The one against Francis (Ngannou) was not a big loss for me, I learned, but it was not too big. But this one is so painful.
ALEXA GRASSO HAS DONE THE UNTHINKABLE! ????????????@AlexaGrasso dethrones Valentina Shevchenko by submission for the flyweight title!!
[ #UFC285 | B2YB @65movie ] pic.twitter.com/k2oMv4KvsW
— UFC (@ufc) March 5, 2023
In the other big fight of the night, sixth-ranked contender Alexa Grasso stunned everyone, herself included, by defeating the division’s most dominant fighter, Valentina ‘Bullet’ Shevchenko, to become the new UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion.
The 29-year-old ended Shevchenko’s nine-fight winning streak, forcing a fourth-round submission with a rear naked choke (RNC) to make history as the first female Mexican-born UFC champion.
